Biography
Joan Andrews Bell, a longtime Catholic pro-life activist from Montague, New Jersey, was one of the "DC Nine" convicted in the October 22, 2020 blockade of the Washington Surgi-Clinic. Convicted September 15, 2023 and taken into custody, she was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison, where she carried on a prison ministry. Married to Chris Bell, she has seven children and seven grandchildren. She was pardoned by President Trump on January 23, 2025.
Joan Andrews Bell, 76, is a veteran pro-life activist from Montague, New Jersey who has been engaged in anti-abortion civil disobedience since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973. A longtime participant in Operation Rescue and similar groups, she has prior convictions in Baltimore, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and Florida related to abortion clinic protests spanning decades. On October 22, 2020, she participated in the blockade of the Washington Surgi-Clinic in Washington, D.C. Convicted of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and conspiracy against rights, she was sentenced in May 2024 by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to 27 months in federal prison plus three years of supervised release.
